Karnataka: Shivakumar marks 100 days as CM, announces 5 lakh housing sites & new initiatives

Bengaluru, Sep 10 (SocialNews.XYZ) Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Thursday marked 100 days in office by launching a slew of initiatives, including Seva One, the Raitha Chaitanya scheme, a CSR portal for schools, free bus passes for school and college students, the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) app, the One Karnataka Mobility app and a programme to install Retrofit Emission Control Devices (RECDs).

He also signed orders for the distribution of five lakh housing sites to landless families and implementation of the Sainika Sammana scheme.

The announcements were made at the "Drudha Karnataka Sankalpa: Shataka Da Patha, Pragatiya Ratha" programme held at the Vidhana Soudha Banquet Hall to mark the completion of 100 days of Shivakumar's tenure as the Chief Minister.

Shivakumar said the Congress-led state government had renewed its commitment to building a strong Karnataka by focusing on healthcare, education, water security, investment, economic growth, Bengaluru's development, regional balance, social justice, capital investment and employment.

He noted that the state government had fulfilled its promises and would continue to take the state's development forward.

"I am not pulling this chariot alone. This is your government," he said, adding that the state government belonged to the seven crore people of Karnataka.

Among the major announcements, Shivakumar said that five lakh housing sites would be distributed to landless rural families.

"Free houses and sites would also be provided to homeless Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) families in rural areas. Roads, drains and streetlights in SC/ST residential areas would be upgraded, while 50,000 youth from SC, ST, Backward Class and minority communities would be provided self-employment opportunities over two years."

For farmers, Shivakumar announced the Chief Minister's Negilu Yogi scheme, under which farmers owning less than three acres would receive subsidised mechanised ploughing services.

The Gramanubhava scheme would expose urban students to rural life, the Chief Minister said.

"The state government would also plant teak saplings along roadsides and entrust their upkeep to farmers. Farmers would receive 70 per cent of the proceeds when the trees are harvested," he added.

For youth empowerment, Shivakumar announced 10,000 Bharat Jodo Yuva Sanghas across the state, with Rs 1,000 crore allocated and annual assistance of Rs 10 lakh each.

The Udyoga Nidhi and Yuva Udyoga Sethu initiatives would promote private employment and provide skill training based on industry requirements, the Chief Minister said.

In education, Shivakumar announced that 1,000 government schools in rural areas would be developed as KPS schools, with support from CSR funds and the World Bank.

"A 7.5 per cent reservation in higher education would be provided for rural students studying in government schools."

On industrial development, Shivakumar said that investment proposals worth Rs 43,214 crore had been approved during his first 100 days as Chief Minister.

A special package would be introduced to attract investments to backward taluks, the Chief Minister added.

He also announced a textile policy, a Ballari jeans park, aerospace and defence policies and a Rs 20,000-crore manufacturing cluster on 4,000 acres in Doddaballapur.

He said that Karnataka was entering the artificial intelligence era and announced plans for India's first government-sponsored AI university, besides introducing AI education for students from Class 6.

The Chief Minister also announced tele-ICUs in all taluks, development of 1,000 cremation grounds and five parks modelled on Bengaluru's Lalbagh.

"Under the Beyond Bengaluru initiative, five global technology centres would be established in Kalaburagi, Belagavi, Hubballi-Dharwad, Mangaluru and Mysuru."

Shivakumar said the Praja Seva initiative had been launched to take administration to people's doorsteps.

"It had already received 30,000 applications relating to pensions, land records and housing sites."

Highlighting the Congress government's three-year performance, Shivakumar said the five guarantee schemes had provided Rs 1,45,416 crore to beneficiaries.

"Gruha Lakshmi had benefited 1.24 crore women, while Gruha Jyothi was providing free electricity to 1.67 crore households. Anna Bhagya was providing 10 kg of rice every month to 4.44 crore people."

He added that Rs 15,735 crore had been spent under Shakti, with women making 821 crore free bus journeys, while Rs 1,154 crore had been provided to 3.72 lakh youth under Yuva Nidhi.

Shivakumar said that Karnataka had attracted Rs 2.53 lakh crore in investment over three years and ranked second nationally in attracting foreign investment.

"More than six lakh jobs were expected to be created, while the state's GDP had risen to Rs 32.81 lakh crore, registering 8.1 per cent growth."

He said the state government's larger vision was to make Karnataka a model for the India of tomorrow, with the state economy targeted to reach $1 trillion by 2037.

"The Karnataka government would also work to reduce malnutrition, school dropouts and poverty to below five per cent and eventually bring them down to zero."

The Chief Minister also had lunch with beneficiaries of the state government's guarantee schemes at the Vidhana Soudha Banquet Hall premises as part of the 100-day programme.

Source: IANS